This
survey of the Railways of Southern Germany begins on the border with Belgium in
Aachen and proceeds, with one or two branch line detours, down the
castle-strewn Rhine to Mainz. Frankfurt and its suburban connections are
examined and steam is in action along the Main waterfront. Private railways
such as the Frankfurt-Königsteiner and the Gelnhäuser Keisebahnen are not
forgotten.

An old
TEE 6-car unit is in action on a charter trip which provides a striking
contrast with the ICE experimental train on the Neubaustrecke between Fulda and
Würzburg. We also take the slower but more picturesque route through the Main
Valley. There are railways along the many river valleys and we follow the
Neckar to Mannheim, the headquarters of two narrow gauge railways and the point
where we join the Rhine again.

Among
Germany’s most famous trains was the old Rheingold and we follow a steam-hauled
outing of the violet and ivory train from Karlsruhe to Bad Herrenalb in the
Black Forest. Steam is also in action around the Kaiserstuhl.

The
Black Forest is inhospitable terrain for railways and we follow some difficult
routes including the preserved Wutachtal Railway where large steam engines with
ten coach trains and assistance from banker locomotives fight their way around
tortuous curves and over soaring viaducts.